Infant carriers come in a myriad of different sizes, shapes, and styles. However, the carry handle arcing over the top of the carrier is a standard feature as it provides the necessary structure for a caregiver/parent to manipulate and carry the infant carrier. This handle, while useful, normally is quite small in diameter and so concentrates the weight of the infant and carrier over a relatively small surface area. A common method of carrying infant carriers is for a person to thread his or her forearm under the handle and rest the handle in the crook of the arm, i.e., opposite the elbow. This allows the carrier to be held close to the user's body while having the additional benefit of freeing the hand to perform other tasks. However, as mentioned above, because the infant carrier handles are normally quite small in diameter, the surface area of the handle that is pressing against the user's forearm is quite small and can quickly lead to discomfort. Furthermore, the handle is prone to slide if the user straightens his or her arm, risking a fall for the infant carrier and infant therein.
A supplemental support for infant carrier handle addresses these issues by increasing the weight-bearing surface area, adding padding, and providing additional friction to the contact so that the handle can not slip easily down the user's arm.
Yet, in the prior invention, the supplemental support for infant carrier handle could not easily and efficiently attach to all the myriads of shapes and sizes of infant carrier handles. Importantly, there are a significant number of different infant carriers, each having different handles; thus, the shape and size of a cross section of the midpoint “carry location” of infant carrier handles yields a significant amount of variety as well. In my earlier works, a supplemental support for infant carrier handle was unable to easily accommodate this variety and so attachment to various infant carrier handles was sometimes sloppy and could result in movement between the supplemental support and the infant carrier handle during use. In order to address these issues, an “insert” could be designed for each handle profile that would wrap around the infant carrier handle and provide a more standard cross section shape and size to which the supplemental support for infant carrier handle could attach. Although functional, this system of attachment was cumbersome and could be difficult to operate. What is needed is a universal attachment design that enhances the functionality of a supplemental support for infant carrier handle while obviating the need for inserts and streamlining the attachment/removal process.